Smith npm bootstrapper
Run Smith from npm without installing a platform binary first:
npx @forgeailab/smith
The package downloads the matching Smith GitHub release archive for macOS or
Linux, verifies it against SHA256SUMS when available, caches it under
~/.smith/npx, and starts the smith binary. Linux always uses Smith's
fully static musl archive, so the same package works on glibc and musl hosts.
Explicitly named smith-<arch>-linux-gnu.tar.gz archives remain available
for users who prefer an Ubuntu 22.04-baseline GNU build.
Useful commands:
npx @forgeailab/smith -p "explain this repo" # one headless turn
npx @forgeailab/smith setup # guided provider/model setup
npx @forgeailab/smith --help
Installing a permanent smith command
--install copies the downloaded binary onto your PATH so later runs skip npm
entirely. It writes to a user-owned directory, so it never needs sudo:
npx @forgeailab/smith --install # -> ~/.local/bin/smith
npx @forgeailab/smith --install --install-dir ~/bin # somewhere else
SMITH_INSTALL_DIR=~/bin npx @forgeailab/smith --install
npx @forgeailab/smith --uninstall # remove it again
If the install directory is not on your PATH, the command prints the
export PATH=... line to add to your shell profile.
By default, the wrapper downloads the GitHub release tag that matches the npm package version. For testing a different release:
npx @forgeailab/smith --release latest
SMITH_NPX_TAG=v0.1.0 npx @forgeailab/smith